Flashing time relay



F. T. FEREDAY FLASHING T IME RELAY Oct. 31, 1933.

Filed March 15, 1927 '7 Sheets -Sheet l Oct. 31, 1933.

F.'T. FEREDAY FLASHING TIME RELAY '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 15, 1927gra/vento@ W/TNESSES@ Oct. 31, 1933.

F. T. FEREDAY FLASHING TIME RELAY Filed March 15, 1927 '7 Shets-Sheet 3Oct. 31, 1933. F FEREDAY I 1,933,010

FLASHING TIME RELAY Filed March l5, 1927 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 31,1933. F. T. FEREDAY FLASHING TIME RELAY Filed March l5, 1927 7Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

A TTORAZY s NT *L 111T I Oct. 31, 1933. F' T. FEREDAY 1,933,010

FLASHING TIME RELAY Filed March l5, 1927 '7 Shees=SheQt 6 :lmm

cur-00T l STARTER INVENTOR. IZ/rxlajy BH@ @04am I@ ATTORN Y @ci 3l,i933.

F. T. FEREDAY FLASHING TIME'RELAY '7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed March l5,1927 n, @mi t wt,

Patented Oct. 31, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLASHING4 TIME RELAYof Kentucky Application March 15, 1927. Serial No. 175,616

5 Claims.

trical signaling system which is especially adapt.

ed for the control of warning signals at highway crossings, i. e., atpofnts where roads, highways or the like cross railroad tracks. However,the

system is by no means limited to such use but on the contrary is readilycapable of various other analogous uses.

One well known type of highway crossing signal comprises a pa'r of redlamps mounted in suitable spaced relation on a pole or other support ata suitable location in the vicinity of the crossing and adapted to beflashed alternately when a train is approaching or blocking thecross'ng. The present system is particularly adapted to include a signalof this type, and in this connection the general object of the inventionis to provide novel means whereby the lamps are maintained normallyunlighted, but are caused to ash when a train is approaching or blockingthe crossing and to again assume their normal unlighted condition whenthe train has passed the crossing. Also, in this connection it is anobject of the invention to provide for flashing of the lamps during onlya limited amount of time in any instance where the ashing is initiatedby th-e approach of a train which does not subsequently proceed to thecrossfng, as, for example, in the case of movement of a switch enginetoward and from the crossing at one side thereof.

To the end of providing for control of a signal of the general typementioned, in the general manner mentioned, the present system isinclusive of a switch device operable to alternately open and close thesignal lamp circuits, a neu-v tral relay in control of said switchdevice and itself under control of train operable switch devices, and acut-out switch device operable by the first ment'oned or lamp flashingswitch device to open the circuit thereof after the elapse of apredetermined period of time. In this connection an important object ofthe invention is to provide a compact, unitary assembly of the neutralrelay Wth. the lamp ashing and cutout switch devices thereby to providefor facility and economy in the production and installation Anotherobject of the invention is to provide means whereby'the period of timeduring which elapses'between initiation of operation of the lampflashing switch device and operation of the cut-out switch to open thecircuit of said lamp flash'ng switch device may readily and easily bevaried and predetermined.

With the above and other objects in view which will more readily appearas the'nature of the invention is better understood, the same consistsin the novel construction, combination and arrangement of partshereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings in which:-

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the complete construction ready forinstallation.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the insulating mounting base,illustrating the general arrangement and relation of the master switchcontrolled by the neutral relay, the rocking switch controlled by thefiasher relay, and the timing element;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 44 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line liwi of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail View of the time element.

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

FT g. oa is a detail sectional View taken on the line 61-6E of Fig. 6.Fig. '7 is a detail view illustrating the speed regulating means. f

Fig. 8 is a. diagrammatic view of the circuits involved in the iiasherunit.

Figs. 9, 9a and 9b are diagrammatic views i1- lustrating the circuitsinvolved, the active circuit in each view being indicated in heavy linesand the inactive circuits being indicated by light lines.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several figures of the drawings.

Referring t the drawings in detail, it will be observed that the presentsystem is primarily inclusive of a neutral relay designated generally asA, a lamp flashing switch device designated generally as B, and anautomatic cut-out switch device designated generally as Cwand D, which10o parts or units preferably but not necessarily are mounted on acommon insulating base 1 and thus are combined in a unitary assembly asbest illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings.

The neutral relay A is inclusive in the present instance of anelectro-magnet of the horseshoe type comprising a pair of coils-4.-4 andrelated cores 5-5 connected at their upper ends by a yoke 6, these coilsbeing suitably mounted on top of the base 1 near one side and one endthereof and being in controlling relation to an armature 8 which ispivotally mounted for rocking movement on a pin or trunnion 9 journaledin downwardly directed ears of a bracket 10 carried by the base at theunderside thereof.

The armature 8 carries a pair of main switch contact lingers 11 and 12arranged adjacent to the sides thereof, and a pair of intermediatecontact fingers 13 and 14, only one of which, 13, is used in the presentinstance, the other being available for any use desired. The armature isunbalanced so that when the magnet of the relay is deenergized thearmature drops to a position in which the :lingers 11, 12 engagecontacts- C4, C1, respectively. On the other hand, when the magnet ofthe relay is energized, the armature is lifted to a position in whichthe fingers 11 and 12 are disengaged from the contacts C4 and C1 and areengaged with contacts a3, a6, respectively, (not used in the presentinstance) simultaneously with engagement of the finger 13 with a contacta4 and engagement of the unused nger 14 with its related contact a5f Theiiasher unit B includes a pair of magnets comprising the cores 15, 16and 17, the cores 15 and 17 being surrounded by the coils 15a and 17arespectively, and all three of the cores having pole pieces 18, 19 and20. The said cores pass through the insulating mounting piece 1 which atthe point where the cores pass through the same is fitted with the topand bottom core plates 21 and 22 ,of nonmagnetic material. The lowercore plate 22 is provided at its medial side edges with the downturnedears 23 which receive a pin or trunnion 24 and which latter in turnsupports the bracket 25 that carries the rocking armature 26. Thisarmature carries therewith, through the medium of the insulating studs27, a plurality of contact springs 28, 29 and 30. These contact springsconstitute in effect a flasher switch which is automatically controlledby the magnets 15 and 17. The ends of the springs are provided withcontact tips, and the opposite ends of all three springs are adapted toalternately contact with the terminals b1, b4 and l1'7 at one side ofthe unit, and with the terminals b3, b5 and b at the other side of theunit. The armature 26 is preferably slightly overbalanced (as at 1c) sothat when the magnets are deenergized the armature will contact with oneof the pole pieces, for example with the pole piece 18 whereby thecontact springs 28, 29 and 30 are adapted normally to engage theterminals b', b4 and b", respectively. However, the contactspring 30 andthe terminals b", ba, are not used in the present instance and thereforemay be ignored in further considering the unit B.

the said bracket having downwardly extending arms 38 and 39. Looselymounted on one end of the shaft 36 is a ratchet wheel 40 which isengaged by the pawl 37 and carries therewith a pinion 41. The saidpinion in turn. engages with a gear 42 fixed on a shaft 43 which isrotatably mounted in a frame 44 comprising the arms 45 and 46 mounted onthe shaft 36 for swinging movement with respect thereto. The rotatableshaft 43 mounted in the swinging frame 44 carries at the end oppositethe gear 42 a pinion 47 which engages with the gear 48 on the shaft 36.This gear 48 is adapted to be held stationary by a latch 48a controlledby a magnet 48b which is included in circuit with the asher relay B sothat while the asher relay is in operation the magnet 43b willcontinuously hold the latch 48a in position to engage the gear 48 andhold it stationary. Accordingly, when the pawl 37 actuates the ratchetwheel 40 movement will be imparted to the gear 42 through the pinion 41whereby the shaft 43 will also rotate and cause the pinion 47 carriedthereby to turn and ride on the stationary gear 48. In other words, therelative movement between 47 and 48 will cause the pinion 47 to walk upon the teeth of 48 and thereby carry the swinging frame 44 with it.

The arm 46 of the swinging frame 44 is provided at its lower end with apointer 46a which is adapted to move over a scale 39a carried by thelower arm 39 of the fixed bracket 37, and therefore as the swingingframe moves it will pass over the scale 39n which has calibrationsreading from 0 to 175 or any desired limit, such for example asindicated in Figs. 5 and 6B, to indicate the number of flashes to begiven by the lamps L and L. The other arm 45 of the swingingframecarries therewith an offset insulation abutment 49 for engagingwith the arm 50 of a cutout switch D.

The said cutout switch includes in addition to the arm 50 the lowercontact finger 51 and the upper contact finger 52. Normally the uppercontact finger 52 is disengaged from the terminal d on the insulatingbase l, and is engaged with the terminal d2 which however is not used inthe present instance. However, upon upward swinging movement of theframe 44 the insulating abutment 49 is adapted to engage with the arm 50and move the contact finger 52 into engagement with the terminal d'.

Any suitable or convenient means for setting the swinging frame 44 tooperate through a predetermined arc may be utilized, but a preferredmeans of accomplishing this purpose is illustrated in detail in Fig. 5.This means includes an adjustable member carried by the insulating base1 and adapted to engage with an offset arm 44 in the swinging frame.Referring in detail to the construction shown in Fig. 5 it will beobserved that a flanged sleeve 53 is secured in the base l by a nut 54and has a plunger 57 slidably mounted therein, the plunger beinglongitudinally grooved as at 56 and the sleeve 53 having a projection 55disposed within said groove so that the plunger is held againstrotation. A screw 58 is threaded into the plunger 57 and is providedwith a collar 59 which is engaged by a pin 60 carried by the sleeve 53thereby to provide a swivel connection between the screw and the sleeveso that when the screw is rotated by engaging a suitable tool with theslotted end 58s thereof the plunger 57 may be fed up or down to effectdesired adjustment of the swinging frame. The head or extension 582L ofthe screw may be provided with lock nuts '61 for holding the same in theset or adjusted position. l

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the normal lowermostposition of the swinging frame on the scale 39' is controlled by thetelescoping screw and plunger construction 57-58. Since the time elementis driven by the asher relay, its time period is dependent upon theasher speed, but the scale is graduated to indicate the number offlashes, so that when the flasher speed is known, the time may bereadily calculated. For example, if the asher relayy is operating at 40ashes per minute and it is desired to operate the time contact for aninterval of two minutes, the indicator 46a may be set at 80 on thescale, or if the speed is thirty ashesper minute and a three minuteperiod is desired, the pointer 46EL should be set at 90 on the scale39a. A feature of the invention resides in the provision of means forregulating the speed of the flasher, and that is accomplished throughthe medium of the adjustable magnetic-ux shunting armature 62 (see Figs.3 and 7). This armature is placed under the magnet coils 15a and 17a ofthe magnets 15 and 17 and is movable laterally toward and from the cores15,v 16 and 17 by means of the adjusting screw 63 in threaded engagementwith the upstanding ear 64 on the plate 21. Also additional screws 65are employed at each end of the armature, the same being mounted in theears 66 of the plate 21 for engagement with the rear edge of thearmature to properly hold the ends thereof in properly adjustedposition. Thus, the screw 63 is the adjusting means while screws 65 area part of the holding means. Suitable lock nuts may be provided to keepthe screws from becoming loose. The adjustable armature 62 is ofmagnetic material (iron) and oiers a by-path or shuntfor the magnetic uxor line of force thus varying the speed 'of operation of the ilasheraccording to its distance from the poles 15 and 17. By moving thearmature 62 toward and against the cores it will slow the operation ofthe flasher and by moving it back the speed of the ilasher will beincreased. This is due to the fact that when the said armature 16 isagainst or very vclose to the cores 15 and 17 a path -is provided themagnets 17-175-20 when the coil 17a is.

supplied with current.

Referring now to Figs. 9, 9EL and .9b of the drawings, it will beobserved that one terminal A' of the electromagnet windings of theneutral relay A is connected by a conductor m with the positive side ofa battery E and that from the other terminal A2 of said windingsconductors t lead to the contact a4 of the neutral relay, to the contactd of the cut-out switch D, and to one terminal 65 of a normally open,train operable cut-out switch 66 the other terminal 67 of which isconnected by a conductor t' with aconductor n leading from the negativeside of the battery E. It will also be observed Ythat a normally closedtrain operable starter switch 68 has one terminal 69 thereof connectedby a conductor s with the conductor n, and the other terminal 70 thereofconnected by a conductor r, through the contact aa of the neutralrelaywith the contact linger 13 of said relay. Also, it will be notedthat the contact linger l1 of the neutral relay is connected through thecontact a7 with the conductor s between the cut-out and starter switches66, 68 by a conductor 71, and that said contact arm 11 additionally isconnected by a conductor 72 with the switch arm 50 of the cut-out switchkD, as at d3, and by said conductor with the contact nger 12 through thecontact all. By further reference to Figs. 9, 9a and 9b -of the drawingsit will be observed that one terminal of each of the magnet windings15a, 17a of the flasher switch B is connected with a contact b2, wherebythe said windings are connected in series, and that from said contactl)2 a-shunt conductor 28a leads to and is connected with the contactspring 28 of said switch; that from the positive side of the battery E aconductor m leads to and is connected with the other terminal of thewinding 15a and alsol with the contacts b and b4, one terminal of thelamp L'. and one terminal of the winding of the magnet 48h; that fromthe contact C4 of the neutral relay a conductor 73 leads to and isconnected with the other terminal of the magnet winding 17a of theflasher switch, and also with the contact b3 of said switch, as well aswith the other terminal of the winding of the magnet 48b of the cut-outswitch D; that from the contact c of the neutral relay a conductor 74leads to and is connected with the Contact b5 of the flasher switch Band alsc with one terminal of the other lamp L,

and that the other terminals of the respective lamps are connected by aconductor y through.

its normal circuit closing condition after the train has passedthereover. On the other hand, the normally open cut-out switch 66 islocated either at the crossing or a relatively short distance therefromat the far side thereof as regards the direction of travel of the train,and is adapted to be train actuated to a closed condition and to returnto its normal open condition after the train has passed thereover.

Figure 9 of the drawings shows the normal condition of the circuit; i.e., when no train is approaching. The switches 66, 68 being in theirnormal open and closed positions, respectively, current can Iiow fromthe battery E only through thecircuit illustrated in heavy lines,because all the other circuits have one or more open contacts. Beginningat the positive side of the battery the closed circuit shown by theheavy lines is through the conductor m to the windings of theelectromagnets of the neutral relay A, from said windings through theconductor t to the contact a4, through the contact finger 13 to thecontact a8 and the conductor r, and from said conductor 1- through thenormally closed switch 68 to the conductors s and n back to. thenegative side of the battery. Thus, the normally energized electromagnetof the neutral relay holds the armature 8 of said relay in a lifted orelevated position to maintain the normal neutral relay circuit and tomaintain the circuits of the flasher switch B and the cut-out switch Dnormally open, since closing of these lattercircuits is dependent upondropping of the neutral relay armature /upon deenergization of theneutral relay magnets.

Assuming now that an approaching train passes over the starter switch 68and opens the same, it is apparent that the circuit shown by heavy linesin Fig. 9 is broken with consequent deenergization of the magnets of theneutral relay and dropping of the armature 8 thereof to the positionshown in Fig. 98, in which position of said armature the contact finger13 is disengaged from the contact a4. Therefore, even though the starterswitch 68 immediately closes following opening thereof, the armatureremains in its lower position as shown in Fig. 92L because of the opencondition of the neutral relay circuit at a4, 13. As heretofore statedand as is apparent from Figs. 9, 9|L and 9b of the drawings, dropping4of the armature 8 of the neutral relay results in engagement of thecontact fingers 11 and 12 with the contacts c4 and c', respectively.Therefore, immediately following opening of the starter switch 68, thecircuits of the flasher switch B, the lamps L, L', and the cut-outswitch D are closed through the contact fingers 11 and 12 of the neutralrelay as shown by the heavy lines in Figs. 9a and 9b. That is to say,with the armature 26 of the fiasher switch B in its normal position andthe contact springs 28 and 29 of said switch engaged with the contacts band b4 and disengaged from the contacts b3, b5,

respectively, deenergization of the neutral relayA spring 28 and shunt28a to the contact b2, through the winding of magnet 1'7a tov theconductor 73 and contact c4, through the contact finger 11 of theneutral relay to the contact a", and from said contact aI through theconductors 71, s and n back to the negative side of the battery. Somesmall amount of current may flow through the winding of the magnet 15a,but as the path of least resistance is through` the winding of themagnet 17h, the relatively small amount of current that may ow throughthe winding of the magnet 15 is of no consequence.

At the same time the circuit through the winding of the magnet 17a isestablished, circuits through the lamp L and the winding of the magneti8b of the cut-out switch D also are established. The first of thesecircuits is from the positive side of the battery through conductor m tocontact b4, through contact spring 29 to contact b, from said contactthrough conductor y, thence through lamp L which is the path of leastresistance for the current, through conductor '74 to the contact c. ofthe neutral relay, through the contact finger 12, to contact all'through conductor 72 to contact a", and finally back to the negativeside of the battery through the conductors 71, s and n. The secondmentioned circuit is from the positive side of the battery through theconductor m vto the winding of the magnet 48h, through said winding tothe conductor '73 and the contact c4 to the neutral relay, through thecontact finger 11 and then tofthe negative side of the battery throughthe conductors '71, s and n. Thus, simultaneously with energization ofthe magnet 17a of the flasher switch B, the lamp L is lighted and themagnet 48'D of the cut-out SW'h D i5 energized with consequent of thelatch 18a into holding engagement with the gear wheel 48.

Upon energization of the magnet 17EL of the flasher switch B thearmature 26 of said switch obviously is rocked by said magnet to theposition shown in Fig. 9b, with consequent disengagement of the contactsprings 28, 29 from the contacts b', b4, respectively, and engagement ofsaid contact springs with the contacts b, b5, respectively. When thisoccurs a circuit is established from the positive side of the batterythrough. conductor m to' and through the winding of the magnet 15a whichis now the path of least resistance for the current, through the shunt28a to the contact spring 28 and the contact b, from said contactthrough the conductor 73 to the contact c4 of the neutral relay andthence through the contact finger 11, contact a7 and the conductors 71,s and n to the negative side of the battery. At the same time currentows from the positive side of the battery through the conductor m to thelamp L', through said lamp to the conductor y and the contact be, thencethrough the contact spring 29 to the contact b5, thence through theconductor 74 to the contact c of the neutral relay, through the contactfinger 12 to contact all, to conductor 72, to contact a7 and through theconductors 71 s and n to the negative side of the battery, the lamp Lbeing shunted due tothe path of least resistance being through the lampL. Thus, simultaneously with rocking of the armature 26 of the flasherswitch from its normal position to its position i1- lustrated in Fig.9b, the lamp L is extinguished and the lamp L is lighted, and sincerocking of lsaid armature to its position illustrated in Fig.

9b results in energization of the magnet 15'* and deenergization of themagnet 1'7a the armature immediately is rocked back to its initialposition reestablishing the lamp circuit illustrated in Fig. 9a.Accordingly, upon opening of the starter switch 68 rocking of thearmature of the flasher switch B is initiated and the lamps L and L' arealternately flashed until the neutral relay magnets are energized tolift the armature 8 and interrupt the circuits to the flasher switch andthe lamps. Ordinarily this is effected by movement of the train over the'cut-out switch 66 with consequent temporary closing of said switch,whereuponthe circuit through the neutral relay magnets is completedthrough said switch and the conductors t, t and n, the armature 8thereby being lifted and being held lifted after opening of the switch66 by reason of the holding circuit as illustrated in Fig. 9 beingreestablished. However, under some conditions the cut-out switch 66 maynot be actuated following actuation of the starter switch 68, as, forexample, in the case of a switch engine operating at one side only ofthe crossing. According- 1y, the cut-outswitch D affords means to stopthe operation of the iiasher switch and flashing of the lamps L, L'under such conditions and after the elapse of a suitable. time interval.In this connection, since the circuit of the magnet 1.1.8a is notaffected by operation of the flasher switch, but remains closed as longas the armature of the neutral relay remains in its lower position asillustrated in Figs. 98 and 9b, it follows that the gear 48 of theswitch D is held by As aforesaid,-

the flasher switch operates the pawl 37 to produce a step-by-stepelevation of the frame 44 of the switch D as long as the gear wheel 48is held against rotation. Thus, as l the asher switch operates, theframe 44 is lifted until the abutment 49 engages the switch arm 50 andlifts the same to engage the contact 52 thereof with the contact d. Whenthis occurs the effect obviously is the same as closing of the trainoperable cut-out switch 66. Therefore, even if the cut-out switch 66 isnot actuated following actuation of the starter switch, the lamps willfiash only for a limited period of time as determined by the initialladjustment or lower position of the frame 44 of the cut-out switch D,and the system thereafter will be restored to its normal condition, asobviously, upon closing of the neutral relay circuit by engagement ofthe contact 52 with the contact d the circuit through-the magnet 48b ofthe switch D is interrupted at'c4 with consequent deenergization of saidmagnet and dropping of the latch 48a. from holding relation to the gear48, which permits the frame 44 to drop to its normal position.

I claim:-

l. In an electric signaling system, a normally closed neutral circuit, asignal circuit, a signal operating device in said signal circuitinclusive of an element which is movable when the circuit is closed, arelay in said neutral circuit maintaining said signal circuit open whensaid neutral circuit is closed and operable to close said signal circuitwhen said neutral circuit is opened, a timing mechanism inclusive ofelectro-magnetic control means which must be energized to render thetiming device operable, a connection between the vmovable element ofsaid signal operating device and said timing mechanism whereby saidmovable element actuates said timing mechanism when the signal circuitis closed-and said electromagnetic control means is energized, meanswhereby said electro-magnetic control means is energized by opening ofsaid neutral circuit and is deenergized by closing of said neutralcircuit, and means whereby a predetermined amount of operation of saidtiming mechanism effects closing of said neutral circuit followingopening thereof.

2. In an electric signaling system, a normally closed neutral circuit, asignal circuit, a vsignal operating device in said signal circuitinclusive of an element which is movable when the circuit is closed, arelay in said neutral circuit maintaining said signal circuit open whensaid neutral circuit is closed and operable to close said signal circuitwhen said neutral circuit is opened, a normally open switch operablewhen closed to close the neutral circuit following opening of thelatter, a timing mechanism for closing said switch, said timingmechanism being inclusive of a normally deenergized electro-magnet whichmust be energized to permit operation of said mechanism to close saidswitch, a connection between said timing mechanism and the movableelement of said signal operating device whereby said movable elementactuates said timing mechanism to effect closing of said switch whensaid electro-magnet is energized, and means whereby said electromagnetis energized by opening of said neutral circuit and is deenergized byclosing of said neutral circuit.

3. In an electrical signalling system, a normally closed neutralcircuit, ,switch means for opening said circuit and thereaftermaintaining said circuit open, switch means for closing said circuitfollowing opening -thereof by the first tain the signal circuit openwhen the neutral circuit is closed and to close the signal circuit wheny the neutral circuit is opened, a mechanism normally stationary, butcapable of movement, switch means connected electrically in parallelwith the second named switch means and operable by said mechanism andupon a predetermined movement thereof for closingv said neutral circuitfollowing opening thereof, electromagnetic control means, means toenergize said control means while` the neutral circuit is open, andmeans eifective upon energization of said control meansand includingaconnection to said element and to said mechanism for moving saidmechanism upon the said movement of said element.

4. In an electrical signalling system, a neutral circuit having a relaythrough which the circuit is maintained normally closed and whichconstantly tends to open said circuit whereby upon opening of thecircuit the same remains open until the relay is energized, a normallyclosed starter switch in said circuit for opening the same, a normallyopen cut-out switchfor closing said circuit after the same has beenopened to energize said relay thus to restore the normally closed statusof said circuit, a signal circuit including two signals and an elementrockable when the circuit is closed to alternately operate said signals,said relay vhaving contacts in said signal circuit arranged to maintainsaid signal circuit open when the neutral circuit is closed and tomaintain the signal circuit closed when the neutral circuit is open,normally open switch means connected electrically in parallel with saidcutout switch and operable when closed to close said neutral circuit, anelement normally stationary and normally spaced from said normally openrestoration of the signal circuit to its normal position.

5. In an electrical signalling system, a neutral circuit having a relaythrough which the circuit is maintained normally closed and whichconstantly tends to open said circuit whereby upon opening of thecircuit the same remains open until the relay is energized, a normallyclosed starter switch in said circuit for opening the same, a. normallyopen cut-out switch for closing said circuit after the same' has beenopened to energize said relay thus to restore the normally closed statusof said circuit, a signal circuit including two signals and an elementrockable when the circuit is closed to alternately operate said signals,said relay having contacts in said signal circuit arranged to maintainsaid signal circuit open when the neutral circuit is closed and tomaintain the signal circuit closed when the neutral circuit is open,normally open switch means connected electrically in parallel with Saidcut-out Switch and operable when closed to close said neutral circuit,an element normally stationary and normally spaced from said normallyopen switch means, a connection between said rockable elesignal circuitis open, said normally stationary member is permitted to assume itsnormal position simultaneously with restoration of the neutral and thesignal circuits to their normally closed and opened conditions,respectively, by closing of said normally open switch.

FREDERICK T. FEREDAY.

